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Apple Announces New In-App Purchase API

Apple yesterday announced a new API to expand in-app purchase capabilities on the App Store, providing developers with new ways to support large content catalogs, creator-driven experiences, and customizable subscription models.



The new "Advanced Commerce API" addresses three broad use cases:


  • Apps offering extensive libraries of one-time purchase content, such as audiobooks or educational courses, that require frequent updates.

  • Apps that provide access to creator-led content, enabling users to purchase either one-time or renewable subscriptions tied to specific creators or collections.

  • Subscription services that offer optional add-ons, such as additional channels, sports content, or region-specific options, as renewable purchases within a broader subscription framework.


These use-cases can now more flexibly leverage Apple's payment infrastructure, which includes end-to-end payment processing, tax compliance, and customer service integration. Apple details the eligibility criteria for developers applying to use the API in a new support document.

Apple's announcement appears to be part of a broader effort to refine its ‌App Store‌ policies following scrutiny, particularly in the European Union. This particular API appears to be a direct response to challenges faced by apps with unconventional monetization models, such as Patreon, an online platform that enables creators to offer paid memberships to their audiences. In 2022, Apple required Patreon to adopt the ‌App Store‌'s billing system for in-app purchases.
This article, "Apple Announces New In-App Purchase API" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Siri failed super-easy Super Bowl test, getting 38 out of 58 wrong

Par : Ben Lovejoy

Apple commentator John Gruber yesterday described Siri’s current performance as “an unfunny joke,” giving its inability to correctly name the winner of Super Bowl 13 an example, noting that this is a basic query that any US chatbot ought to be able to answer.

It turns out that wasn’t an entirely random example: it was prompted by his friend Paul Kafasis, who decided to test Siri on Super Bowl 1 to 60 inclusive – and the results were not good …

more…

Apple's Macintosh Turns 41 Today

Apple announced the Macintosh 41 years ago today, introducing the first widely successful personal computer with a graphical user interface.



The Macintosh revolutionized personal computing by popularizing the use of a mouse to control an on-screen pointer. At the time, this point-and-click navigation method was unfamiliar to most, as personal computers primarily relied on text-based command-line interfaces operated with a keyboard. An excerpt from Apple's press release in 1984:

Users tell Macintosh what to do simply by moving a "mouse" — a small pointing device — to select among functions listed in menus and represented by pictorial symbols on the screen. Users are no longer forced to memorize the numerous and confusing keyboard commands of conventional computers. The result is radical ease of use and a significant reduction in learning time. In effect, the Macintosh is a desk-top appliance offering users increased utility and creativity with simplicity.


Apple claimed the Macintosh required "only a few hours to learn" and introduced features that are now fundamental, such as a desktop with icons, multitasking in windows, drop-down menus, and copy-and-paste functionality.

Macintosh easily fits on a desk, both in terms of its style of operation and its physical design. It takes up about the same amount of desk space as a piece of paper. With Macintosh, the computer is an aid to spontaneity and originality, not an obstacle. It allows ideas and relationships to be viewed in new ways. Macintosh enhances not just productivity, but also creativity.


The Macintosh was priced starting at $2,495, equivalent to over $7,000 today. It featured an 8 MHz Motorola 68000 processor paired with 128 KB of RAM (upgradeable to 512 KB), a 400 KB 3.5-inch floppy disk drive, a 9-inch black-and-white CRT display with a resolution of 512x342 pixels, and two serial ports to attach peripherals like the Apple ImageWriter printer or external modems.

It included software such as MacPaint, which allowed users to draw detailed black-and-white graphics with features like pattern fills and brushes that were revolutionary for the time, and MacWrite, a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) word processing application with real-time editing, proportional fonts, and drag-and-drop functionality.

The Macintosh launch was accompanied by one of the most iconic marketing campaigns in history, including the legendary "1984" Super Bowl commercial directed by Ridley Scott. The ad positioned the Macintosh as a revolutionary product that would challenge the conformity of the computing industry, dominated by IBM at the time.

Over 40 years later, the Mac continues to be an essential product for Apple and retains many of the same software features as the original model. Apple's full press release for the original Macintosh is available on Stanford University's website.
This article, "Apple's Macintosh Turns 41 Today" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Threads Now Lets You Schedule Posts Up to 75 Days in Advance

Par : Tim Hardwick
Threads, Meta's social network that's meant to rival X, has announced it is rolling out the ability for all users to schedule posts.


Threads can now be created and scheduled to go up at a later date and time. Multiple posts can be scheduled per day, up to 75 days in advance, but it's not possible to schedule replies.

To use the feature, create a post, select the three-dot menu in the top-left corner, and select "Schedule." Once a time and date for posting has been selected, you can view, delete, or edit the post from the drafts folder.

Announcing the feature on Thursday, Instagram head Adam Mosseri added that Threads is also adding a way to "markup" re-shared posts by drawing over, highlighting, or adding arrows to the existing post. The feature is rolling out to a "few countries with more to come soon," said Mosseri.

Threads recently announced a handful of new features, including performance analytics for content creators, and support for writing and saving multiple drafts via Threads for web. Threads is also introducing X-style Community Notes, as part of Meta's broader shift away from fact-checking moderation.
Tag: Threads

This article, "Threads Now Lets You Schedule Posts Up to 75 Days in Advance" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Siri Gives Eagles 33 False Super Bowl Wins in Basic Knowledge Test

Par : Tim Hardwick
In what may not come as much of a surprise, a new test of Siri's knowledge of Super Bowl history has revealed significant accuracy issues with Apple's virtual assistant, suggesting Apple still has some way to go in overcoming challenges with Siri's ability to provide reliable information.


In a methodical experiment, One Foot Tsunami's Paul Kafasis asked Siri who won each Super Bowl from I through LX and documented its responses. The results were strikingly poor, with Siri correctly identifying winners only 34% of the time – just 20 correct answers out of 58 played Super Bowls.

Perhaps most notably, Siri repeatedly and incorrectly credited the Philadelphia Eagles with 33 Super Bowl victories, despite the team having won only one championship in their history. The virtual assistant's responses ranged from providing information about wrong Super Bowls to offering completely unrelated football facts.

While Siri did manage a few streaks of accurate answers, including three consecutive correct responses for Super Bowls V through VII, it also had a remarkable string of 15 consecutive incorrect answers spanning Super Bowls XVII through XXXII.

In one telling instance, when asked about Super Bowl XVI, Siri offered to defer to ChatGPT - which then provided the correct answer. The contrast highlighted the limitations of Siri's own knowledge base compared to more advanced AI systems.

The test was conducted on iOS 18.2.1 with Apple Intelligence enabled, and similar results were found on both the upcoming iOS 18.3 beta and macOS 14.7.2, suggesting the issue extends across Apple's platforms. Kafasis generated a spreadsheet of the results in both Excel and PDF formats, which you can read here.

Separately, inspired by Kafasis' test, Daring Fireball's John Gruber tried some of his own sports queries with Siri and compared its responses to ChatGPT, Kagi, DuckDuckGo, and Google, all of which succeeded where Siri failed.

Perhaps worse for Apple, Gruber found that old Siri (i.e. before Apple Intelligence) did a better job at answering a question by declining to answer it, instead providing a list of web links. The first web result provided an accurate, if only partial, answer to the question, whereas new Siri, powered by Apple Intelligence, fared much worse. Gruber explains:
New Siri — powered by Apple Intelligence™ with ChatGPT integration enabled — gets the answer completely but plausibly wrong, which is the worst way to get it wrong. It's also inconsistently wrong — I tried the same question four times, and got a different answer, all of them wrong, each time. It's a complete failure.
"It's just incredible how stupid Siri is about a subject matter of such popularity," commented Gruber. "If you had guessed that Siri could get half the Super Bowls right, you lost, and it wasn't even that close."

Of course, this isn't the first time Siri has received heavy flak for its all-round performance, but Gruber's criticism about "plausibly wrong" answers to general knowledge questions ties back to the modern problem of hallucinating AI chatbots that spout misleading or flat-out wrong responses with complete confidence.

Apple is developing a much smarter version of Siri that utilizes advanced large language models, which should allow the personal assistant to better compete with chatbots like ChatGPT. A chatbot version of Siri would likely be able to hold ongoing conversations and provide the sort of help and insight as ChatGPT or Claude, but how well the integration will perform may be a concern, going on Siri's abysmal track record.

Apple is expected to announce LLM Siri as soon as 2025 at WWDC, but Apple won't launch it until several months after it's unveiled. That means LLM Siri would come in an update to iOS 19, with Apple planning for a spring 2026 launch.
This article, "Siri Gives Eagles 33 False Super Bowl Wins in Basic Knowledge Test" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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5 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.3

Par : Tim Hardwick
Apple is set to release iOS 18.3 next week, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a couple of neat new capabilities to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 devices, and bug fixes.


While not quite as packed with new features as Apple's preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.3 still introduces capabilities that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we've listed five new things your ‌iPhone‌ will be able to do when the update rolls out later this month.

Add an Event to Calendar From a Poster or Flyer



For ‌iPhone 16‌ models, iOS 18.3 adds Visual Intelligence support for adding events to the Calendar app. After installing the software on an ‌iPhone 16‌, long press the Camera Control button to activate ‌‌Visual Intelligence‌‌ when viewing a poster or a flyer, and you will be given the option to add an event to the Calendar app.

Easily Identify Plants and Animals



Apple's latest update also adds a feature for easily identifying plants and animals with ‌‌Visual Intelligence‌‌. You may be familiar with a similar feature in the Photos app that provides insight into plants, animals, and insects when viewing additional image information. Well, with iOS 18.3 installed, you'll be able to reveal these details with Camera Control's ‌Visual Intelligence‌ option, but in real time.

Manage Notification Summaries More Easily



Available on compatible devices in iOS 18.1 and later, ‌‌‌Apple Intelligence‌‌‌ notification summaries are designed to group multiple notifications from the same app together, providing a one-sentence overview of the content. In iOS 18.3, you can now more easily manage individual app settings for notification summaries directly from your ‌iPhone‌'s Lock Screen. A quick swipe leftwards across a summarized notification reveals a new option to turn off summaries for the related app. You can reinstate summaries for the app in question anytime by toggling the associated switch in Settings ➝ Notifications ➝ Summarize Notifications.

Identify Notification Summaries More Easily



In iOS 18.3, notifications that have been summarized now appear in italicized text, with the aim of making them easier to differentiate visually compared to regular notifications. It's also worth noting that Apple has temporarily disabled notification summaries for apps that fall into the News & Entertainment category, following widespread reports of misleading summarized news headlines.

Perform Repeating Operations in Calculator



Apple is using the iOS 18.3 update as a chance to bring repeating operations back to the Calculator app. When you tap the equals sign twice, the app will now repeat the last mathematical operation. For example, if you tap in 10x10 and tap the equals sign to get a 100 result, if you hit equals again, it will multiply 100x10, and will continue multiplying by 10 every time you tap the equals symbol. It's a small but meaningful change that should make it easier to calculate compound interest.
This article, "5 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.3" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple Watch Bands Are Safe to Wear, Says Apple, After Lawsuit Filed

Following a class action lawsuit that alleges some Apple Watch bands contain toxic "forever chemicals," also known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), Apple has ensured that Apple Watch bands are "safe for users to wear."


Apple's full statement today:
Apple Watch bands are safe for users to wear. In addition to our own testing, we also work with independent laboratories to conduct rigorous testing and analysis of the materials used in our products, including Apple Watch bands.
Apple said its efforts to remove potentially harmful chemicals from its products and manufacturing processes often exceed regulatory requirements.

Despite saying Apple Watch bands are safe to wear, Apple plans to phase out PFAS.

In a November 2022 document, Apple detailed its commitment to "completely phase out" its use of PFAS in its products and manufacturing processes. Apple said it would "take time" for this process to be completed, due to various challenges, including identifying and developing non-PFAS alternatives that meet certain "performance needs."

From the white paper:
We started with an assessment of the PFAS class with the highest use volume in our products — the fluoropolymers. While our analysis indicated that these materials are safe during product use, we felt it important to broaden our scope to consider manufacturing along the supply chain. We concluded that our goal needs to restrict the use of all PFAS compounds.

A complete phaseout of PFAS from Apple products and processes will take time. We need to compile a comprehensive catalog of PFAS use in electronics, identify and develop non-PFAS alternatives that can meet the performance needs for certain critical applications, and take into account the time needed for material qualification. Lastly we need to ensure that the non-PFAS alternatives do not result in regrettable substitutions — where alternatives are as harmful as, or even more harmful than, the PFAS being replaced.
The lawsuit cited a recent study that found some smartwatch bands contain "high levels" of PFAS, which can be absorbed through skin and lead to health problems. According to The Guardian, the study tested smartwatch models from Apple, Nike, Fitbit, and Google, but it apparently did not list any specific smartwatch bands containing PFAS by name.

Apple did not immediately respond when we asked which Apple Watch bands contain PFAS, if any. The lawsuit's proposed class is anyone in the U.S. who purchased a Sport Band, Nike Sport Band, or Ocean Band for an Apple Watch.

A judge still has to decide whether to allow the class action to proceed.
Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

This article, "Apple Watch Bands Are Safe to Wear, Says Apple, After Lawsuit Filed" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple Releases Safari Technology Preview 212 With Bug Fixes and Performance Improvements

Par : Juli Clover
Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser that was first introduced in March 2016. Apple designed ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ to allow users to test features that are planned for future release versions of the Safari browser.


‌Safari Technology Preview‌ 212 includes fixes and updates for Authentication, Canvas, CSS, Forms, JavaScript, Loading, Networking, PDF, Rendering, SVG, Text, Web API and Web Inspector.

The current ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ release is compatible with machines running macOS Sonoma and macOS Sequoia, the newest version of macOS.

The ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ update is available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences or System Settings to anyone who has downloaded the browser from Apple’s website. Complete release notes for the update are available on the Safari Technology Preview website.

Apple’s aim with ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while it is designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download and use.
This article, "Apple Releases Safari Technology Preview 212 With Bug Fixes and Performance Improvements" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Epic Games Store Lures EU Developers With Promise to Pay Apple Fees

Par : Juli Clover
Epic Games is planning to pay the Apple fees that EU developers incur when distributing their apps through the ‌Epic Games‌ Store, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney told The Verge today.


‌Epic Games‌ added almost 20 third-party games to its app store on iOS devices in the European Union, where alternate app stores are allowed to operate. Epic also debuted its free games program, and the company says it will pay the Core Technology Fees for iOS developers in the EU who offer their apps for free on the ‌Epic Games‌ Store.

Developers who bring their apps to the ‌Epic Games‌ Store can get their Core Technology Fee (CTF) paid for one year. The CTF is a 0.50 euro fee that developers must pay for every app install, and that fee applies to apps regardless of how they are monetized. It is worth noting that Apple offers CTF exceptions for small developers that include no CTF for a three-year period if the developer is earning under 10 million euros, plus developers that have under a million annual app installs do not pay fees to begin with. Apple also does not charge a fee for developers with a no revenue business that offer apps without monetization.

Sweeney has criticized Apple's Core Technology Fee and app distribution guidelines many times, and he told The Verge today that the CTF is "ruinous for any hopes of a competing store getting a foothold." He further said that it is "not financially viable" for ‌Epic Games‌ to pay Apple's fees longterm, but it plans to do so while it waits to see if the European Union requires Apple to further tweak its rules for third-party marketplaces under the Digital Markets Act.

‌Epic Games‌ claims that its mobile store can't attract developers because of the fees that Apple charges, with "scare screens" also driving away customers in the EU. "We won't really have app store freedom, even in Europe, and actual user choice and competition, unless the DMA is robustly enforced," Sweeney said.

The ‌Epic Games‌ Store for iOS is only available in the European Union right now because alternative app stores and distribution methods are not allowed in other countries.
This article, "Epic Games Store Lures EU Developers With Promise to Pay Apple Fees" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple Says Several Car Makers Still Plan to Support Next-Generation CarPlay

Apple today confirmed that "several" car makers still plan to support next-generation CarPlay in future vehicle models. Apple said each car brand will share more details as they near the announcements of these vehicles, but it did not provide a timeframe. Apple previously said next-generation ‌CarPlay‌ would launch in 2024, but that did not happen.


Apple's statement about next-generation ‌CarPlay‌:
The next generation of CarPlay builds on years of success and insights gained from CarPlay, delivering the best of Apple and the automaker in a deeply integrated and customizable experience. We continue to work closely with several automakers, enabling them to showcase their unique brand and visual design philosophies in the next generation of CarPlay. Each car brand will share more details as they near the announcements of their models that will support the next generation of CarPlay.
Apple also remains committed to its current ‌CarPlay‌ platform, and said it is available in over 98% of new cars sold in the U.S. over the past few years.

Apple previously said committed car makers included Acura, Audi, Ford, Honda, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Polestar, Porsche, Renault, and Volvo. In December 2023, Aston Martin and Porsche previewed next-generation ‌CarPlay‌ designs, but have yet to deliver. It is unclear which car makers are currently working with Apple.

This news comes just minutes after Apple updated its website to remove the missed 2024 timeframe that it had previously stated for next-generation ‌CarPlay‌. Apple first previewed the software system at WWDC 2022.
Related Roundup: CarPlay

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Apple Removes '2024' Timeframe From Next-Generation CarPlay Page

Apple's website said the first vehicle models with support for next-generation CarPlay would "arrive in 2024," but that did not happen. A little more than three weeks into 2025, Apple has now updated its website in the U.S. to remove that 2024 timeframe from the next-generation ‌CarPlay‌ section of its overall CarPlay page.


The fact that Apple did not remove the entire next-generation ‌CarPlay‌ section from the page suggests that the software might still launch at some point in the future, but Apple is no longer providing a timeframe at this point.

It is unclear if Apple, car makers, or both are to blame for the missed 2024 target. We have reached out to Apple for comment.

Apple first previewed next-generation ‌CarPlay‌ at WWDC 2022, and there are still signs that it might eventually launch at some point. First, additional references to next-generation ‌CarPlay‌ were added in the iOS 18.3 beta's code. Second, Apple filed some additional next-generation ‌CarPlay‌ images in a EU database last month.

Apple promised that next-generation ‌CarPlay‌ would have deep integration with the instrument cluster and climate controls, support for multiple displays across the dashboard, a dedicated FM radio app, customizable widgets, and more. The interface would be tailored to each vehicle model and automaker's brand identity.


Here is how Apple describes it:
This next generation of CarPlay is the ultimate iPhone experience for the car. It provides content for all the driver's screens including the instrument cluster. This ensures a cohesive design experience that is the very best of your car and your iPhone — with designs for each automaker that express your vehicle’s character and brand. Vehicle functions like radio and temperature controls are handled right from CarPlay. And personalization options ranging from widgets to selecting curated gauge cluster designs make it unique to the driver.
If it ever launches, next-generation ‌CarPlay‌ is expected to be available in new vehicles only. It is not an update to the standard ‌CarPlay‌ software.

In December 2023, Aston Martin and Porsche previewed next-generation CarPlay instrument cluster designs, but neither brand has rolled out the system. Apple said other committed car makers included Acura, Audi, Ford, Honda, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Polestar, Renault, and Volvo. Given that list is more than two and a half years old, it is unclear if all of those car makers remain committed.

Update: Apple said several car makers still plan to support next-generation CarPlay.

The company's full statement:
The next generation of CarPlay builds on years of success and insights gained from CarPlay, delivering the best of Apple and the automaker in a deeply integrated and customizable experience. We continue to work closely with several automakers, enabling them to showcase their unique brand and visual design philosophies in the next generation of CarPlay. Each car brand will share more details as they near the announcements of their models that will support the next generation of CarPlay.
Apple did not provide an updated timeframe.
Related Roundup: CarPlay

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iOS 18.3 notification summary changes, iPhone 17 design rumors, iOS 19 Camera app

Benjamin and Chance give their thoughts on Apple’s attempts to placate the BBC’s complaints about notification summaries with iOS 18.3. Also, the rumored iPhone 17 Air design has a divisive camera bar on the back, and this week also saw an intriguing leak showing apparent design changes for the iOS 19 Camera app. 

And in Happy Hour Plus, Chance struggles to find new things to watch and — much to Benjamin’s delight — brings his own Apple TV app complaints to the table. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

more…

Apple Releases Beta Firmware Updates for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Par : Juli Clover
Apple today released new beta firmware updates for both AirPods 4 models and the AirPods Pro 2 with both Lightning and USB-C charging cases. The firmware has a build number of 7E5067b, and it is only available to developers at the current time.


It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find out. Non-developers will have 7B21 firmware on the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 and 7B20 firmware on the ‌AirPods 4‌, with no change until the beta firmware sees an official launch.

There is no method for manually forcing the installation of a firmware update on AirPods. Firmware updates are generally installed over-the-air when the AirPods are in a charging case and connected to an iOS device or a Mac.
Related Roundups: AirPods 4, AirPods Pro
Related Forum: AirPods

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Some Apple Watch Bands Contain Toxic 'Forever Chemicals' Per Lawsuit [Updated]

A class action lawsuit filed against Apple this week in a California federal court accuses the company of false advertising and violating various consumer laws, by failing to disclose that some Apple Watch bands contain toxic materials.


Specifically, the complaint alleges that Apple misleads customers into thinking the Apple Watch has health and wellness benefits, and is safe to wear daily. The complaint cites a recent study that reportedly found some smartwatch bands contain "high levels" of so-called "forever chemicals," also known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These substances can be absorbed through skin and can lead to health problems.

For synthetic rubber, PFAS can help to reduce discoloration and stains from sweat and dirt.

According to The Guardian, the study did not indicate which smartwatch brands were found to be using PFAS, but it said the study tested smartwatch models from Apple, Nike, Fitbit, and Google. Citing the study, the lawsuit alleges that "elevated levels" of the PFAS fluorine were found in the "expensive" category of smartwatch bands, and the complaint alleges that this included some Apple Watch bands. The proposed class is anyone in the U.S. who purchased a Sport Band, Nike Sport Band, or Ocean Band for an Apple Watch.

Apple did not immediately respond to our request for comment. A judge still has to decide whether to allow the class action lawsuit to proceed.

Update: Apple Watch bands are safe to wear, according to Apple.

Apple's full statement:
Apple Watch bands are safe for users to wear. In addition to our own testing, we also work with independent laboratories to conduct rigorous testing and analysis of the materials used in our products, including Apple Watch bands.
Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

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